BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 285


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          Date of Hearing:  May 20, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          285 (Gallagher) - As Amended April 23, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          Yes


          SUMMARY:


          This bill makes minor changes to the laws governing the  
          registration of legal document assistants (LDAs). Specifically,  
          this bill:








                                                                     AB 285


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          1)Repeals the requirement that a registered LDA must display the  
            expiration date of his or her registration on printed  
            solicitation, papers, documents, and other printed materials,  
            but does require the expiration date continue to appear on the  
            written contracts required to be provided to a client, as well  
            as on any website maintained by the LDA and in any  
            solicitation, advertisement, document, or correspondence  
            prepared or used by the LDA in electronic form.


          2)Requires the county clerk to assign the same number upon  
            renewal of registration to each legal document assistant (LDA)  
            or unlawful detainer assistant (UDA) instead of requiring a  
            new number to be assigned in the event of a lapse in the  
            period of registration.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Any additional costs to county clerks should be minor and  
          absorbable.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background. LDAs provide legal document preparation and  
            self-help services to the public within defined parameters.   
            LDAs may not provide any self-help service for compensation,  
            unless registered in the county of their principal place of  
            business, and any other county in which they serve clients.   
            The term "self-help services" defines the activities that  
            registered LDAs are specifically authorized to perform, which  
            include completing legal documents in a ministerial manner and  
            making published legal documents available to a person who is  
            representing himself or herself in a legal matter.








                                                                     AB 285


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          2)Purpose. This bill, sponsored by the California Association of  
            Legal Document Assistants (CALDA), seeks modest changes to  
            laws regarding the registration of LDAs, particularly  
            disclosure rules that require LDAs to display certain  
            registration information on all of their business materials  
            and documents.  First, the bill repeals the requirement that a  
            registered LDA must display the expiration date of his or her  
            registration on printed solicitation, papers, documents, and  
            other printed materials, with exception of the written  
            contract for services that must be provided to each client, as  
            well as on any website maintained by the LDA and documents,  
            correspondence or materials that are in electronic rather than  
            printed form. Second, the bill would allow LDAs to keep the  
            same registration number after periods of non-renewal.   
            Proponents, including the National Federation of Independent  
            Businesses (NFIB), contend that both changes are needed to  
            reduce unnecessary cost burdens on LDAs, namely, by forcing  
            them to regularly purchase new written materials and discard  
            old materials whenever an expiration date or registration  
            number changes.


          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081